A Chinese PhD student at Universiti Sains Malaysia highlights the university’s strong reputation and independent learning culture as key draws for international students.
GEORGE TOWN: Zheng Liyu (pic) is among a growing number of Chinese nationals who are choosing Malaysia for their higher education studies.
The 35-year-old, who taught at a university in Sichuan, China, for 11 years, selected Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) for its academic reputation, citing it as a key factor in her decision to pursue her doctorate here.
She enrolled in USM’s School of Languages, Literacies and Translation in 2022. Her research focuses on critical discourse analysis and English language teaching.
“I chose USM because it is a public university with a good academic reputation. Additionally, my work requires me to further develop my academic qualifications, and I also believe that pursuing higher education here gives me the opportunity to broaden my horizons,” she told theSun.
Zheng, who is from the Yi ethnic minority in Sichuan, said the academic culture at USM differs from what she experienced in China.
“In China, doctoral students often have more frequent supervision and structured guidance from their supervisors.
“At USM, students are expected to work much more independently. While supervisors provide valuable guidance, there is a stronger emphasis on self-directed learning, critical thinking and taking responsibility for one’s own research progress.”
Despite being enrolled as a full-time student, Zheng successfully balances her doctoral pursuit with her ongoing teaching career in China, made possible by the hybrid nature of the programme.
“Much of my research can be conducted remotely. This flexibility allows me to continue my teaching responsibilities in China while working on data collection, analyses and dissertation writing.”
She usually spends about two months at a time in Penang to meet her supervisors before returning to China in September to resume her teaching duties during the autumn academic term.
Zheng said she appreciates Penang’s diverse cultural makeup and its prominent Chinese community, adding that among the events she has visited was the George Town Heritage Festival held in the vicinity of Armenian Street recently.
Interestingly, while Penang is celebrated as a street food paradise, Zheng’s palate remains tied to the familiar tastes of home.
Rather than indulging in the island’s famous local specialities, her favourite dish here is Vietnamese pho.
“It’s probably what I eat most often because the flavour is quite similar to the food back home,” she said.
Apart from her regular fare of soup noodles, she prefers sticking to simpler local mainstays, eating chicken rice on a regular basis.
During her first semester, Zheng also took a compulsory introductory Malay language course, and learnt basic greetings and everyday expressions.
“After passing the assessment, I didn’t have much opportunity to practise speaking the language.
“I rarely use it now, and I’ve gradually forgotten most of what I learnt.”
